Age, gender, and individual differences in memory failure appraisal.
Young adults (22 men and 24 women) and older adults (24 men and 24 women) rated 12 gender-neutral vignettes describing short-term, long-term, and very-long-term memory failures. Vignette target persons were young (21-32) or older (65-75) men or women. Subjects of both age and gender groups used a double standard: Failures of older targets of both genders were rated as signifying greater mental difficulty than failures of young targets; failures of young targets were attributed to lack of effort and attention. Young subjects judged very-long-term failures more harshly than did older subjects. Subjects' objective memory performance, self-rated memory failure frequency, memory failure discomfort, and depression made little difference in their target person ratings.
Erber
J T
JT
Florida International University, Miami 33199.
Szuchman
L T
LT
Rothberg
S T
ST
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors